Editorial: District's choice process is fairer

A.J. Whittenberg Elementary School in Greenville has drawn long lines of parents trying to enroll their children. A new lottery system will eliminate campouts such as one that occurred at Whittenberg last year.

The Greenville County School District has made a wise and equitable decision by abandoning a first-come, first-served policy for public school choice slots at the district's schools.

The problems with the first-come, first-served method of filling these openings were laid bare about a year ago when parents lined up outside one of the district's most coveted schools, A.J. Whittenberg Elementary. By 4 p.m. on the day parents were allowed to begin lining up on school property a crowd of about 75 parents had parked across from the school. At 4 p.m. the parents made a dash for the front door to secure a place in line. In the race for a prime spot in line, one parent was injured when she was bumped and fell.

Then began a three-day campout until Monday morning when applications were accepted from the 150 parents who ultimately were in line.

Parents who are seeking the best possible education for their children should not be forced to participate in what seems more like a reality TV stunt than a dignified school enrollment process. Further, the nature of the process eliminated some parents from enrolling their children. What single mother who cannot afford childcare and cannot afford to take a day or two off of work would have been able to go through this sort of process? This system was inherently unfair to parents who might not be able to take the time away from work to spend three nights camped out in front of an elementary school, in potentially severe late autumn weather and away from the children they are supposed to be caring for

It was bad policy that was begging to be changed.

To his credit, Superintendent Burke Royster recognized at the time that the process needed to be changed. He has followed through on a commitment to do just that and it has resulted in an open enrollment system that is more equitable and safer for parents and students.

The School Board ultimately decided to implement a lottery system for public school choice slots in most of its schools. The lottery system will not apply in the district's 11 magnet schools that have certain requirements that must be met before students will be placed in a lottery. It also will not apply to Wade Hampton High, Sara Collins Elementary, Sterling, and the new Phinnize J. Fisher Middle School that all have other criteria for admitting "out-of-zone" students.

The district also decided to give preference to students whose siblings already attend the requested school, followed by students at overcrowded schools, if necessary. Both of those exceptions make perfect sense; it is perfectly reasonable that parents should have every opportunity for all of their children to attend the same school.

Students who live outside the school district and pay tuition to attend Greenville County Schools will have last priority, according a recent Greenville News report.

For the rest of the schools in the district, here is how the new system will work: From Dec. 9-20 parents can pick up a numbered application at a school that they can fill out and return before the application period ends. After Dec. 20, students will be randomly selected to fill available slots. Parents can apply at up to three schools and can rank them in order of preference. All applications submitted during the period will have an equal chance of being selected. That means that parents will not be allowed to line up at any school to try to jockey for position in the lottery because, in the words of one school official, "There is no purpose."

As one parent put it in the newspaper report, "The voice of reason and logic has really been heard."

Royster told The News that the district studied other first-come, first-served methods, including online registration. That system was too complicated. It also would have put families without home Internet access at a disadvantage.

This really is the best system. It treats all families equally, and it doesn't assume that parents have the time or the inclination to camp out for several days, often in bad weather, and even risk injury as they attempt to get the best possible position in line.

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Editorial: District's choice process is fairer

The Greenville County School District has made a wise and equitable decision by abandoning a first-come, first-served policy for public school choice slots at the district's schools.